…Nullifies his election on grounds of over voting in 10 LGs
…Declares Oyetola as authentic winner of Osun gov poll
…Deducts over voting, says Oyetola scores 314,931 votes, Adeleke polls 290,666
…Orders INEC to withdraw certificate of return to Adeleke, hand it over to Oyetola
…Adeleke rejects verdict, heads for Appeal Court for redress
Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, has nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke on the grounds of over voting, saying that Adeleke can’t afford to ‘Go lo lo lo lo and Buga won’ without lawful votes.
The tribunal’s reference to “Go lo lo lo” and “Buga won” might not be unconnected to Adeleke’s dance to a song by a popular Nigerian artiste, Kizz Daniel, in November 2022.
Adeleke, who spoke at the Government Secretariat on his first day in office as governor, danced to the global song while the crowd he was addressing cheered him on with dancing skill
In a majority judgment that lasted over three hours on Friday, the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Tetsea Kume, resolved the question of over-voting against the respondents, saying the petitioners with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) report obtained from INEC’s backend server established over-voting in 744 units.
According to the tribunal chairman, unlawful votes had given Adeleke victory, insisting that the governorship election of July 16, 2022 was not held in compliance with the Electoral Act.
He added that after deducting the unlawful votes, Oyetola’s tally came down to 314, 931 votes, while Adeleke scored 290,666.
He, therefore, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and hand it over to Oyetola, the “duly elected governor of the state.”
According to Justice Kume, the petitioners relied on the document obtained from INEC and stated that the commission’s claim that synchronisation had not been completed when the BVAS report was issued to the petitioners was untenable as synchronisation, going by its definition, meant that it ‘must occur at the same time’.
He further held that the exhibits tendered by the respondents had not altered the position of regularity of exhibit BVR, being the BVAS report tendered by the petitioners and the other documents they laid before the panel.
Justice Kume said, “In other words, the defences of the respondents are taint with fundamental flaws; they are irreconcilable and unreliable, incapable of defeating the credible evidence tendered by the petitioners in respect of the 744 polling units where over-voting has been established.
“The inference we hereby draw from the fact established by the evidence and record is that the election conducted on the 16th day of July, 2022 was done in substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and extant regulations.
“Moreover, exhibit BVR has not been withdrawn by the first respondent, who made and issued it. The petitioners relied on exhibit BVR in maintaining this petition.
“Similarly, the exhibit tendered by the respondents after exhibit BVR submitted by learned counsel to the petitioners were thought of after the declaration of result on the 17th day of July, 2022.
“The said conduct of the respondents, especially the first respondent (INEC) , amounts to tampering with official records. The conduct of the first respondent in the said election under consideration has produced multiple accusation reports, contrary to vote declaration to conduct of free, fair and credible elections on the basis of one man or woman with one vote.
“Consequently, to forestall a manipulation of BVAS machines in the conduct of elections in Nigeria by the first respondent, the presiding officers at the polling units and other key officers of the first respondent should act on the vest won by them.
“During the conduct of elections, an electronic device embedded in a safe vest, which would have helped you to collect data and information transmittable to a server domiciled either in the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force, NIGCOMSAT, the National Secretary Adviser, independent of the first respondent.
“The data stored at the server in any of the said offices will be a resource material for investigation and possible prosecution of any infraction that may occur in the use of the BVAS in the polling units during the conduct of elections.”
Justice Kume added, “We find as a fact that the voting occurred in the election conducted on the 16th day of July, 2022 in the manner stated in the table in paragraph 6.19 of the petitioner’s final written address already reproduced in this judgment; the duty of this tribunal is to deduct the said invalid votes from the lawful votes of the first petitioner and the first respondent to determine who had the majority of lawful votes at the said election.
“The table produced on page 30, paragraph 7.01 of the petitioner’s final written address in response to the first respondent’s final written address on page 17, paragraph 6.21 on the petitioner’s final address shows a graphic demonstration of the lawful votes after the deduction of the said invalid votes cast”.
Justice Kume then said, “For the sake of emphasis, the total lawful votes for each of the candidates after the said deduction of the invalid votes is 314, 931 for the 1st Petitioner, and 290,666 for the 2nd Respondent.”
“Consequently, the 2nd Respondent (Adeleke) did not score a majority of lawful votes cast at the election. The declaration and return are hereby declared null and void.”
Mocking Adeleke, the tribunal chairman said, “The 2nd Respondent (Adeleke) cannot “Go lo lo lo lo” and “Buga won” as the duly elected Governor of Osun State in the election conducted on 16th day of July 2022. See Kizz Daniel’s song BUGA. Rather, we hereby hold that the 1st Petitioner (Oyetola) scored a majority of lawful votes in the said election and is hereby returned as such.”
“The 1st Respondent (INEC) is hereby directed to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the 2nd Respondent (Adeleke) and issue it to the 1st Petitioner (Oyetola) as the duly elected Governor of Osun State.
“Accordingly, reliefs 72c, d in 744 Polling Units only, e, f, g, h and i already reproduced in the judgment are hereby granted. Having granted the main reliefs, the alternative reliefs are hereby struck out.”
The judge also declared that the forgery allegation regarding the dates on the school testimonial obtained by Adeleke was proven, but stressed that Adeleke had other certificates that qualified him for the post he contested and subsequently resolved the forgery allegation against the petitioners.
But in a minority decision, a member of the panel, Justice A. Ogbuli, dismissed Oyetola’s petition, saying the primary source of data on Election Day, which were the BVAS machines, should have been relied on by the panel instead of BVAS reports brought by the petitioners.
He also held that the report of physical inspection of the BVAS machines admitted by the panel was not challenged by the petitioners.
He also said the petitioners did not say that the entries on the BVAS machines were not the same as the entries in exhibit RWC, which was the report of the forensic inspection of the machines.
Justice Ogbuli said, “Exhibit RWC is a document made from the time resources, which are the machines used on the Election Day.
“The exhibit on RWC is in existence and was there on the machine on the date of election. Section 64 subsections 4,5 and 6 of the Electoral Act recognised BVAS machines as a key material to be used in collation of result and in resolution of any dispute arising there from.
“In view of the following, I hold that exhibit BVR is a product of inadequacies and cannot be the best evidence for the determination of the accurate number of accredited voters for the July 16, 2022 election. The same is true of exhibit RBVR. The best evidence in that regard is RBVL 1-119 down to RBVL 1-59 used in the polling units under contest and I so hold.”
The Tribunal consequently reversed the results of the governorship election and declared Oyetola as the winner of the election.
But the third member of the panel concurred with the tribunal chairman, saying that she agreed with the judgement of the majority.
It is instructive to note that INEC had declared Adeleke as the winner of the governorship poll with a total of 403,371 votes, saying that the PDP governorship candidate won in 17 out of the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state.
According to INEC, Oyetola of the APC won in only 13 LGAs and scored 375,027 votes.
Fifteen candidates contested for the governorship election but it was keenly contested between Adeleke and Oyetola.
But Oyetola has challenged the propriety of the governorship election, arguing that the election was characterised by over-voting in 749 polling units.
The APC governorship candidate further argued that Adeleke forged the academic credentials he submitted to INEC to contest for the election.
It is important to note that tribunal commenced sitting in August 2022, while Oyetola and the APC are petitioners in the petition
Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN) were the leading lawyers for Oyetola during the tribunal sitting .
Mr Paul Ananaba (SAN) appeared for INEC, Dr Alex Iziyon (SAN) represented the PDP while Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) appeared for Adeleke.
Adeleke rejects verdict, heads for Appeal Court
Meanwhile, Adeleke has rejected the judgment of the tribunal, saying that he is heading to the Court of Appeal to seek for a redress.
One of the lead lawyers to Adeleke, Mr Nathaniel Oke ( SAN) also disclosed that his clients will challenge the judgement at the appellate court.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the majority’s judgment, Oke said, “The judgement has been delivered, nullifying the election that had been conducted on 16 July 2022. The reality on the ground is that we are dissatisfied and the necessary legal basis for the purpose of challenging that judgement we will embark upon it.
“The minority judgement may not necessarily be the judgement of the court but we are in total agreement with the position the minority judgment has delivered. But you will recall that it is only two people that delivered judgment in respect of this matter.”
Lawyer to INEC, Paul Ananaba (SAN), also expressed dissatisfaction with the majority judgement.
Ananaba also urged residents of the state to be calm and hinted that INEC will challenge the judgement at the appeal court.
He said, “ Anybody who listen to the judgement will see the industry and the position of the law on BVAS which is the primary. And that is the minority position that BVAS is the primary source of what transpired on the day of the election. As stated by the minority judgement, it is the correct position of the law as far as we are concerned,” he said.
“The people of Osun should be calm, there are constitutional provisions on what should be done. I believe that the Court of Appeal has a duty.”
Faulting the judgment in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke faulted the resolution of the over-voting question in favour of Oyetola, calling it “an unfair interpretation against the will of the majority of voters.”
Urging his supporters to remain calm, Adeleke vowed to appeal the judgment and insisted that he remained the winner of the July 16 election.
He said “I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgment and we are sure that justice will be done. Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate.”
In an address to the people of the state, Adeleke said the discrepancies mentioned by the tribunal chairman were tantamount to a “miscarriage of justice.”
He also said the claim of over-voting was unfounded.
Adeleke said, “My good people of Osun State, we have all heard the split judgment of the governorship election tribunal.
“Two members of the tribunal delivered two opposing judgments; the chairman and the member one. The member two did not deliver any judgment; she abstained.
“The chairman’s judgment affirmed the claim of over-voting, while member one’s judgment agreed with our position as captured by the BVAS machines, which are the primary source of accreditation data of true accreditation on the day of the election.
“The reality of my election as the governor of Osun State is captured in member one’s judgment. The claim of over-voting in the chairman’s judgment was unfounded. This was clearly a miscarriage of justice. Based on the above, there was no majority judgment.
“My good people of Osun State, I am still your governor. I have the right of appeal on the chairman’s judgment and I have instructed my lawyers accordingly.
“You gave me your mandate, our election remains valid and by the grace of God we will triumph at last. I call on you all to remain calm and go about your normal activities peacefully. Please remain law-abiding. We have strong faith in God and in our judiciary.
“My counsel has also written the electoral commission intimating it of the appeal and seeking non-implementation of the judgment until the determination of the appeal.”
PDP members protest in Osogbo
In a related development , scores of PDP members in Osogbo, the state capital, staged a peaceful protest against the tribunal’s decision on Friday.
Armed with placards with various inscriptions, the protesters demanded a probe of the panel and later converged on Olaiya junction in Osogbo, where their leaders addressed them.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, ‘Tribunal panel not fair in today’s judgment’, ‘Imole has come to stay’, ‘Osun citizens reject Oyetola’, ‘Injustice to Ademola Adeleke’, ‘On Imole mandate we stand’, among others.
One of the leaders of the protesters, Mr Taiwo Akinyele, said he was not happy with the tribunal’s judgment in spite of the fact that the evidence before it was clear that Adeleke won the election.
Akinyele decried the attitude of the tribunal chairman, Justice Tertsea Kume, who gave an unfavourable judgment in spite of the evidence against the petitioners.
He expressed optimism that the PDP would retrieve its mandate at the Court of Appeal in Akure in due course.
He said, “It is just a matter of time. We have been deceived and denied our mandate. Osun people are tired of the APC for all their harsh policies. I know God will intervene.”
Policemen and other security agents were seen patrolling major roads in the state capital to ensure that no one took the law into their own hands and caused mayhem.
The party expressed reservation over the ability of INEC to live up to the expectations of Nigerians and deliver credible and transparent elections this year.
The party stated this in its reaction to the nullification of Adeleke’s victory by the election petitions tribunal.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, noted that in spite of repeated assurances from the umpire, issues relating to over-voting were still coming up after the declaration of results.
It’s victory for Osun-Oyetola
Immediate-past Governor of Osun State and APC governorship candidate in the July 16 governorship election, Adegboyega Oyetola, has described his victory at the State Election Petition Tribunal as well-deserved.
He also appealed to the members of the PDP not to resort to self-help, but instead allow the judicial process to run its full course.
Addressing journalists shortly after the Tribunal ruling on Friday at his Iragbiji country home in Boripe local government area of the State, Oyetola said: “The Tribunal judgement today on our petition ushers in a new dawn of a renewed hope and recovery for Osun State.
“For me, I see it as a no victor and no vanquished situation for our party members, but rather a collective victory for the entire people of Osun State, party and Nigeria’s democracy.
“I am happy that the Tribunal has been able to lay to rest the controversy over the real winner of the July 16 Osun Governorship election.
“INEC would no doubt be the greatest beneficiary of this ruling, as it would help it correct some of the anomalies that have been pointed out through the ruling, a thing that was our motivation in the first instance.
“Like I have always emphasised, our decision to approach the Tribunal was not to impugn on the integrity of INEC, but to help deepen our electoral system and our democracy.
“I salute millions of our party faithful and Osun citizens, who stood firm to weather the storm for their courage and loyalty.
“With this victory, we have become more energised to redouble our efforts towards ensuring victory for our presidential candidate and all our National Assembly candidates, including all the State House of Assembly candidates in the February and March elections respectively.
“I thank our legal team for a diligent job, just as I also thank the Tribunal for doing justice to our petition. Finally, I call on our party members and supporters across the State not to react to any form of provocation from any quarters. Let’s continue to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding.
Atiku reacts, urges Osun people to have faith in Adeleke
The presidential candidate of the PDP has rejected the judgement of the tribunal that sacked Governor Adeleke.
Reacting to the verdict, Atiku urged Osun State people to continue to have faith in Governor Adeleke.
He added that Adeleke will emerge victorious at the end.
He said, “On today’s verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal in Osun State, I stand in solidarity with the good people of Osun State who overwhelmingly voted for the PDP and gave their mandate to His Excellency Governor Ademola Adeleke.
“What has happened at the tribunal today is a phase in the struggle to liberate Osun State, and I am sure that at the conclusion of the whole process, the people shall be victorious.
“I, therefore, call on the people of Osun to continue to have faith in their governor elected into office on the popular ballot.
“This light that has shone on Osun shall never go dim.”
Oyetola’s victory, triumph of light over darkness, says Tinubu
The Presidential Candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described as triumph of light over darkness, the Osun state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal verdict which declared Adeboyega Oyetola as duly elected governor of he state.
In a congratulatory message to Oyetola, Tinubu said the victory of Oyetola was deserving, describing it a “triumph of courage and perseverance, and light over the forces of darkness that sought to arrest the progressive good governance the APC administration delivered to the people of Osun State under the leadership of Oyetola.”
In the statement signed by his Media Aide, Mr. Tunde Rahman, Tinubu said; “I heartily rejoice with Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola on his much deserved victory at the Election Tribunal today. It is the victory of light over darkness. A triumph of perseverance, courage and justice over electoral fraud and democratic perversion.
“The forces of darkness plotted to extinguish the able leadership and progressive good governance that improved the quality of life of our people under your leadership. But today, the Tribunal delivered justice and restored the mandate freely given to you and our great party.
“I am confident that the good work you championed that was momentarily paused will soon resume and Osun people will be happy again.
And together we can renew their hope of a shared prosperity.”
Akeredolu hails judgment, says verdict reflects will of Osun
Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has hailed the judgment and said it reflected the will of the people of the state, who voted massively for the APC.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Richard Olatunde, on Friday, Akeredolu said the tribunal’s verdict had restored the hope of the common man and reinforced confidence in the judiciary.
The statement reads in part, “We received with delight, the news of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal, which declared Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of the July 16 governorship election in the state.
“This is indeed a victory for democracy. No doubt, the judgment will further consolidate and deepen our country’s democratic values and election petitions jurisprudence. It will also sustain the faith of the people in our democratic process. The will of the people has prevailed.
“I congratulate my dearest brother, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (Ileri-Oluwa). I also rejoice with the good people of Osun State and the entire APC family. This is a victory for all.
“While we relish the victory of the moment, I like to assure my dearest brother, Gboyega, that we will be with him all the way to the Supreme Court. We shall hold hands together and march on this path of shared conviction. At the end, this victory shall be permanent.”
Sanwo-Olu wants Oyetola to go back, complete his good work
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged Oyetola to dust his economic blueprint, go back to work and complete the very good work that he started.
He told reporters at the Lagos House, Ikeja, “We need to commend and believe in the judicial success and judicial process of our country. I think the tribunal has taken its time and you can see the outcome. It was a majority decision and I want to thank and commend them for doing the right thing. I imagine they must have been under tremendous pressure, but I am sure that at the end of the day, they took the right outcome.
“My congratulations go to the APC family in Osun. This is a victory that has been delayed for such a long time. The judiciary has shown that it was delayed but not denied; so I want to congratulate my brother, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
“I want him to go and dust the economic blueprint that he has started with the people of Osun, dust all of his files and ensure that by the grace of God, he returns back to the Ileri Oluwa journey for dividends of all of his efforts in the last four years. He will go back to work and complete the good work that he has started with his people.
“I want to call on everybody in Osun that the APC continues to remain the party to beat, and continues to remain a party of relevance in Osun State and in Nigeria as a whole.
